A Split Second
by Ailibhe
Summary: A little girl with wiry black hair & green eyes. A Lt. Colonel in the USAF. One car accident. 2 lives changed. Eventual Shweir. AU normal reality . Is better than sounds. Rated T for possible mild language.
1. Chapter 1

-1Nine year old Alexa Mercer sighed as she looked in the mirror at herself. She was never much on caring what she looked like, but there was one thing about herself she didn't like at all.

Her uncontrollable black hair.

She half-heartedly reached up and tried to smooth it, and as usual, it bounced right back into place.

She sighed again and shook her head as she abandoned the mirror and made her way out of her room. The wood floor on her bare was extremely cold as she scampered quickly to the carpeted stairs. Alexa could hear her dad downstairs in the kitchen making coffee, so she went to see what was for breakfast.

"Hey Dad," Alexa said as she came into the kitchen.

'Hey kiddo," Nick Mercer greeted his daughter. "Toast is on the island." Alexa helped herself to a piece.

"Where's Mom?"

"She's on her way down." He answered, pouring his coffee. "She's finishing up the packing for this weekend at your grandparents."

Alexa nodded as she munched on her toast.

"Hey sweetie!" A voice came from behind her and kissed her on the top of her head.

"Hey Mom,"

"Hey Hun," Lisa Mercer swiftly moved about the kitchen, kissing her husband lovingly, and pouring herself a cup of coffee. Alexa watched them with amazement. She marveled at how in love they were with each other, and she hoped that one day she could experience that same feeling.

"Hey Babe," Nick said, sipping his own coffee.

"We're all set to go," Lisa said to her husband, then she turned to Alexa. "Are you sure that you're going to be okay here by yourself?" Her mom hadn't been to keen on leaving Alexa alone all weekend, but Nick and Alexa had finally convinced her that it'd be fine, but she was still worried.

"Yes Mom, I'm sure."

"And you know the neighbors phone number, grandpa and grandma's phone number, your father's and my cell phones, Dr. B-"

"Mom! I'll be fine." Alexa looked into her mothers eyes and smiled. "but now I have to go to school." She slipped her converse low tops on and kissed her parents goodbye.

"Love you, Dad," She said as she pulled him into a hug. Her mother pulled Alexa into a hug, nearly crushing her ribs.

"Love you, kiddo."

When she turned around, her mother pulled Alexa into a hug, nearly crushing her ribs.

"Mom-" Alexa panted. "can't breathe."

Lisa let go and held her daughters face in her hands.

"I'll be fine, Mom. I promise." Alexa smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry."

"I know, babe."

"Love you, Mom."

"I love you, too Babe." Lisa looked as though she might cry. Nick moved beside her and held her close as they watched their daughter leave.

"I love you guys," Alexa said as she swung her bookbag on her back and backed out the door. "See ya, Sunday!"

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The school day, and week, finally ended and Alexa took her time walking home. She loved Boston in the Fall. She couldn't imagine living anywhere else. It was the most perfect city in the world.

She turned the corner onto her street and walked a few blocks until she was in front of the door to their average sized townhouse. She fished the key from inside her pocket and unlocked the door.

She dropped her booksack on the floor, slipped her shoes off, and went to the refrigerator to get herself a drink.

There was a note for her on the refrigerator door. She pulled it off and read it.

_Lexie_,

_Dinner is in the oven! Do me a favor and _

_don't burn down the house._

_XOXOXO_

_Mom_

Alexa smirked and rolled her eyes at the note, sticking it back on the refrigerator.

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A couple hours later, Alexa was eating her dinner and watching "Walk The Line", when the phone rang. She set down her plate, paused the movie, and got up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Yes, is this Miss Alexa Mercer?"

"Yes sir, this is she."

"I'm sorry to inform you Miss Mercer but you parents…"

"What about my parents?!" Alexa was beginning to worry.

'Miss Mercer, there's been an accident…"

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A/N- Well, Whaddya think? John is coming in the story in the next chapter.

Should I continue or throw in the towel? Lemme know…


	2. Chapter 2

-1The personnel, especially one of the pilots best friends, Rodney Mckay, in the Control Tower of McGuire Air Force Base let their jaws drop to the ground as they watched a F-35 Lightning II speed by, doing barrel rolls and several other dangerous stunts, too close to the tower in their opinion.

_Damn, this thing handles like a dream! _Lt. Colonel John Sheppard thought to himself as he aced another barrel roll. Control was trying to talk to him, but he wasn't paying attention to what they were trying to say. Flying put him in his own world.

And he wasn't ready to go back to reality yet.

_"Sheppard!! Do you copy?!"_

"Roger, Control. I copy."

_"What the hell do you think you're doing up there, Sheppard?!"_

"Oh, just havin' a little fun, sir." John smirked.

_"You best get your ass down here, Sheppard." The commander restrained himself from smiling._

"Copy that, sir." John chuckled to himself as he brought the bird down.

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John marched in the lunch line slowly behind everyone else and grabbed one of the last turkey sandwiches. Rodney stormed up behind him.

"What is the matter with you!!!"

"Well, they're out of apple pie-" John said, knowing it would provoke his hi-strung friend even more.

"I'm serious!! You are gonna get yourself killed!!"

"Yeah, yeah. Same ol', same ol'. Different day."

"I'm tell-img mffuu-" Rodney began his next sentence as John stuffed a shiny red apple in his mouth.

"Cool it, McKay. I haven't died yet."

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John carried his tray over to sit were another friend, Dr. Carson Beckett, the base medic, had already begun his lunch.

"So-" Carson smiled up at John. "I here you almost needed my assistance this morning."

"Oh, come on, I wasn't even close to crashing, I do it all the time, you know that-"

"Of course I know that! I wasn't talking about that- I was talking about when the Commander got a hold of you." Carson grinned. They laughed together and continued eating their lunch. After a few minutes, Rodney joined them, visibly grumpy about their merriment without him, or worse, about him.

Suddenly, a soothing and familiar scent wafted across John's nostrils. He turned around in his seat, and sure enough, there she was, walking straight towards them.

Elizabeth Weir.

The only thing that got him higher than flying. She made his heart beat faster and soar higher than the jet he'd test driven that morning. They'd hit it off the moment they met. She had a way of making him happier, and ground him the way no one else had ever been able to do. Not that he wasn't happy, just…she made him…happier. A feeling he couldn't even begin to describe.

She walked closer to them still, and his heart began to beat faster, and faster, and faster…

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Elizabeth entered the mess hall. She scanned the room for the man she was looking for…and then she spotted his unmistakable hair. She began to walk towards him.

John Sheppard.

The only person who made her heart skip a beat. She had fallen for him the moment they met. He had a way of making her laugh the way no one else could. His smile made her melt into a puddle on the floor and just the sight of him rendered her speechless. How could someone make you feel so small and vulnerable, but yet so empowered and invincible at the same time? She had no idea, but she did know that he was the only person who'd ever made her feel that way before.

He turned around and looked at her.

Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat. She mentally shook all of her feelings about John off. After all, she had a job to do. She was the base's lawyer, and so until her business was done, John was her client, however much it pained her to hold back their relationship even more.

Although she knew the news she had to give him would most definitely change whatever relationship they may have had-forever.

She finally got to his table after what seemed like eons.

"John…"

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"Hey, Liz…" John smiled at her.

"Um…" She glanced at Rodney and Carson. "Can we, maybe, speak privately in my office?"


	3. Chapter 3

-1"What's this about?" John said as soon as the door closed behind them. Elizabeth sat down and sighed.

"Have a seat, John." She looked up at him with her green eyes and tried to smile, to ease his nerves. She'd never been good at that, but nevertheless she always gave it her best shot. "Wow…I…um…don't really know how to say this-"

"Then just say it-" John was looking at her with those fierce eyes he got when he was nervous or afraid.

"Lisa and Nick Mercer, a married couple from Boston were killed in a car accident four days ago on their way to Connecticut."

"Well…that's terrible, but what does it have to do with me?" John asked, confused.

"You may know Lisa better as…Lisa Foster," John's eyes got huge, almost tearing up. Elizabeth continued. "She left behind a daughter, Alexa. She's nine years old."

Elizabeth pushed a picture across her desk to John.

All John could do was stare at the picture. The little girl in it looked exactly like him. It was obviously her latest school picture. He could tell that Lisa had tried to tame her wild black hair, but had failed miserably. She had pale green eyes spotted with flecks of brown, just like his. She was beautiful. John looked back up at Elizabeth.

"She's yours, John." Elizabeth said, confirming what he already knew.

Immediately, questions started zooming through John's mind. Is she okay? Is she being fed enough? Is she cold? Is she scared? What has her life been like?

"Does she know about me?" John finally asked.

"No, no she doesn't." Elizabeth looked down. "Her social worker thought it best that Alexa not be told unless it was for sure that she could come to live with you."

"Of course she can!" John said, like it was stupid to think otherwise. They sat in silence for a moment, then Elizabeth spoke up.

"I've arranged for you to meet her next week."

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Sorry its short…..R&R!!!


	4. Chapter 4

-1"So, my dad wasn't…my dad?" Alexa stared at her social worker, Jan, with her huge eyes. Jan put her hand on Alexa's shoulder and sadly smiled.

"I'm afraid not, hon." Jan said sympathetically. "He's a test pilot for the air force. He lives in New Jersey and his name is John Sheppard. He really is a good man."

"So...whats going to happen now?" Alexa asked. "Does he even want to meet me?"

"Of course he does! Who wouldn't want to get to know you?" Jan tried to cheer the girl up. "In fact, he insisted. You're going to meet him in a few days."

Alexa continued to stare at her hands.

"We'd really like it if you went to stay with him…permanently." Alexa nodded half-heartedly. It wasn't that she didn't want to meet this man. Alexa just couldn't get over her mother's enormous lie. Jan had told her that this John guy hadn't even known that he had a daughter, so she'd lied to him, too. It wasn't his fault. In fact, he probably had an even bigger shock than she did.

Jan looked at her sadly and began to rifle through her purse. After a minute, she handed Alexa a picture. Alexa took it, startled after she had had a chance to look at it.

The man in the picture was an older, male version of herself. Her nose, eyes, smirk, hair…definitely the hair. His face looked warm and inviting, and Jan was right, he did look like a good man.

_This might be okay_, she decided.

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John shifted in his bar stool and stared into his empty glass and sighed. Ronon, his best friend, stared at him from across the counter. He'd seen John like this before, but not quite this bad. He kind of knew the fear John was feeling though. His wife, Amelia, was pregnant with their first child and was due in about a month. But, this was different and he knew it. He also knew he could think of no one who would be a better father than John.

"You know you're gonna be fine, right?" Ronon prodded, earning him a look from his friend.

"Hit me." was John's only reply.

"You're not gonna be able to do this when she gets here." Ronon said as he poured John another drink. "Drink yourself into oblivion, I mean."

"I still don't know how I'm gonna make this work."

"So don't."

"I have to." John looked at him like he was a crazy person.

"Exactly. So stop sitting around here worrying about it and just do it."


	5. Chapter 5

John was fighting hard not to pace.

The train was due to be there any second and he was at his wits end. Over the past few days he had tried to fix up the spare room in his apartment so it would be perfect for Alexa, but stopped when he realized he had no idea what his daughter liked, and only ended up clearing all the junk out of it. He had tried to get groceries, but stopped when he realized he didn't know what food Alexa liked or if she was allergic to anything.

He took a cleansing breath, reminding himself that Alexa's social-worker would be there, so he wouldn't be alone. This thought only made him more nervous, reminding him that if either the social-worker didn't like him, he would lose Alexa. And what if Alexa herself didn't like him? What then?

John chuckled to himself. He hadn't been this nervous since he was a teenager living at home.

A screech tore him from his thoughts. He turned around. Her train. It was here.

He was about to meet his daughter.

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Alexa was torn.

She truly did want to at least meet this John guy, but living with him meant leaving Boston. It meant leaving her parents behind. Her home. Her friends. It meant admitting they were gone.

The long ride to Trenton had been uneventful. Jan had slept most of the way, lightly snoring beside Alexa. They'd be arriving any time now and the butterflies were starting to swarm in her stomach. She felt as though someone had knocked the wind right out of her.

The train began slowing as they pulled into the station. She was here.

She was about to meet her father.

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The crowds began clearing and the two locked eyes. Even if John had never seen her picture, he would have known it was her.

Jan and Alexa walked up to him. Jan extended her hand.

"My name is Jan Griffins." John accepted her hand and nodded, looking at Alexa, his eyes unmoving. Jan motined towards Alexa. "And this-is Alexa. You daughter."

"Hi, kiddo."

"Hey…" Alexa said shyly. She looked up at him and noticed his tee-shirt. She brightened. "Izzat Johnny Cash?" John looked down at his shirt.

"Yep, sure is. You like him?" John smiled.

"Only a lot!"

Hope you guys like!

Also, there's a picture I drew of Alexa and put on my deviatArt page, so go to the link on my profile page! Check it out!!


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